The present disclosure is related to a zoom lens for use in electronic cameras such as a digital camera, a video camera, a broadcast camera, and a surveillance camera. The present disclosure is also related to an imaging apparatus equipped with the zoom lens.
A zoom type configuration, in which a first group having a negative refractive power and a second lens group having a positive refractive power are provided as leading lens groups in order from the object side to the image side, has been proposed as a simple configuration of a zoom lens. Recently, negative lead type zoom lenses of this type that also achieve a widened angle of view have been proposed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 10(1998)-253885, 2010-181787, and 2012-226307. Widening of the angle of view is comparatively facilitated by adopting a negative lead configuration. However, there are certain trade offs in adopting such a configuration, and therefore various configurations have been proposed.